Between and round the kingdoms of the mainland lie hills, forests and gorges whose peoples answer to no king on 1 January 1200.
They are drawn in one pale colour, each with its own range outlined in its own record. In Burma they are the Kachin, Naga and Chin hills, the Palaung and Wa hills, the Pa-O, the Karen and Kayah hills of the Dawna and the Yoma, and the hill peoples of the Rakhine Yoma. In the Tai north they are the Lawa, Karen and Kha hills and the Pai and Mae Hong Son valleys.
In Laos, Cambodia and Thailand they are the Pear, Chong and Samre of the Cardamoms, the Kui of the Dangrek, the Bunong and Stieng, the Brao of the Se San, the Kha (Khmu) of the north, the hill villages of the Bolaven, the Annamite uplands and the Loei and Phetchabun forest. In Vietnam they are the Bru, Ta Oi, Katu, Cor, Hre, Sedang, Bahnar, Jarai, Rade, Mnong, Koho, Ma, Raglai and the Dong Nai uplands, which Champa courts with gifts and marriage and never taxes. In Yunnan they are the Hani, Wa and Pu hills, the Lincang basins, the Nujiang gorge and the Funing and Guangnan edge.
Some are claimed from outside, or sell to whichever side is buying; none is ruled by a king.
Who rules
- Name
- None named for 1199 to 1200 in the sources read
- Title
- No king: each people follows its own clan, village and hamlet headmen
- Confidence
- low
What the realm holds
- The Kachin, Naga and Chin hills and the Hukawng and Putao country
- The Palaung, Wa, Pa-O, Karen and Kayah hills of the Shan plateau and the Salween
- The Rakhine and Pegu Yoma hill peoples
- The Lawa, Karen and Kha hills of the Tai north and the Pai and Mae Hong Son valleys
- The Cardamom, Dangrek, Bunong, Stieng and Se San hill peoples of Cambodia and Laos, the Kha of the north and the Bolaven and Annamite villages
- The Annamite hill peoples of Vietnam: Bru, Ta Oi, Katu, Cor, Hre, Sedang, Bahnar, Jarai, Rade, Mnong, Koho, Ma, Raglai and Stieng
- The Hani, Wa, Pu and Blang hills, the Lincang basins and the Nujiang gorge of Yunnan
The realm that morning
No war, raid or revolt is recorded for these peoples in the winter of 1199 to 1200.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No headman, chief or elder of these hill peoples is named for 1 January 1200 in anything the researchers could read. The ranges are drawn from modern districts and later ethnography, and the names (Kachin, Naga, Chin, Wa, Palaung, Karen, Kayah, Hani, Pu, Blang, Lawa, Kha, Kui, Bunong, Stieng, Jarai, Rade, Bahnar, Sedang, Katu, Koho, Raglai and the rest) are the names of later records and censuses; what these peoples called themselves in 1200 is not settled.
On the map: One colour for many peoples that answer to no king. The outlines are the researchers' rough ranges and the modern districts of the uplands, cut at the state lines of this sheet: the Naga, Kachin, Chin, Wa and Hani ranges run on into India, Bangladesh, China and Laos and Vietnam, which belong in part to other maps.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.